Hi figureheaduk,
I started resaerching cults a few years after leaving the JW sect back in the mid eighties. not so much their doctrine, but what "groups" were considered to be cults. At my local public library, Mormons and JWs were both listed as cults in every history/reference book I found, even the ones copyrighted back in the late 40s-early 50s. I only researched what were cults because of my fear of being sucked back into a cult. I hear it's very common for people to exit one cult, only to jump into another one. That is what I feared i would do, yet didn't know what church to attend, because at the same time, I wanted a place to go to serve God and have some christian fellowship.
From what I've read of the Mormon sect, it is EXACTLY the same as far as using threats as a method of damage control. They have the same "stages" of punishment for disagreeing with leaders teachings such as being marked, publicly reproved, privately reproved, and disfellowshipped. They just use a few different terms for the punishments, but they are equal to the JWs terminolgy of such. They also consider anone who leaves because they might disagree with their teachings or rules to treat others by, as being wicked apostates from God, and are to be hated the same way the WBTS teach it's adherents to hate. And the same steps to prove what is in ones heart who wishes to go back to be reisnsted to the
"love" of their "family". Also, they are encouraged not to independently think outside the group, as JWs are. And as someone said already, their origin came from to men who were masons and were the same type of dictators.
Ther are PLENTY of ex Mormon discussion boards and pleny of support groups for those trying to exit the Mormon sect, just as the JW sect. There are the same horror stories about abused adherents being guilted into shutting up aboput it too. If you wish for some links, just let me know and I'll send some to you in your private message mail box.
peace,
somebody/gwen